Do the surgery now. There shouldn't even be another option. Weiss is ineffective while playing with a sports hernia. Give him plenty of time to rest and recuperate, and hopefully this can provide him with an opportunity to start from scratch and try to get his body and mind where he wants it to be before he returns to the lineup. The contract is for several years, let's do this the right way.

This. 100% this.

Its not like he's a guy we're desperate to get back in the line-up. We've got 5 years and $25M invested in this guy, lets at least give him a chance long term.

"If I can be totally honest, it's not a lot of guys you get impressed by. Actually, it's no one else but him. From the bench, to see what move he makes -- you're like, 'I wish I could do that.' Sometimes you sit on the bench and just think, 'wow,' and you look over to the other bench and they sit there and shake their heads, too. He has great, great skills. I'm probably not going to play with another player who has the kind of skills he has." Mikael Samuelsson on Pavel Datsyuk

On the bright side - this gives him an out on all the bad play he exhibited - even if it didn't have an effect until recently (who knows). For his confidence it will be nice to have something to blame his play on and then come back believing he can now play like his old self.

Is there a kickstarter campaign for Jakub Kindl to never play another NHL game?

Tough news, but hopefully Weiss gets healthy to help the Red Wings for the stretch run and playoffs.

Have to wonder if this means Z and Pavel on separate lines once again when Z gets back. Helm was really coming on offensively, so maybe he's not as out of place as a second line center if you want to keep the Euro-Twins together. Andersson is slow, but works well with speedy wingers (maybe Abby and Tatar) on the third line.

Cant be stopped. Skill, speed, playmaking, scoring, in the top 3 lines. And then a rock solid 4th. Let weiss recover. With everyone healthy we actually have a pretty deep roster.

I would be alright with those line combinations. Bertuzzi creates space for the Euro-Twins, but I'm not a huge fan of him getting first line minutes anymore. Babcock loves having a big body for puck retrieval on each line, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Bertuzzi playing up there.

No question on this. Do the surgery now and give him every second he needs to get fully healthy. Stephen Weiss at full strength is something that could greatly help this team. Do it right and get him right.

This sucks. I know Weiss hasn't been the greatest but we all know why now. With everyone healthy including Weiss we definitely have one of the deepest teams in the NHL. Top 5 for sure. Really sucks that he's going to out for a while.

With everyone healthy including Weiss we definitely have one of the deepest teams in the NHL. Top 5 for sure.

Dunno if we're that deep. But we're definitely deep.

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!" - Kierkegaard

This is my last straw with Weiss. If he comes back after the surgery and shows piss poor effort again I won't be looking for him to succeed here anymore. Can only hope this fixes him.

Surely there will be an adjustment period when he returns. At the very least, he'll be rusty.

As for this being the last straw for him, I don't think I can get behind that, because 1) you can't really do anything about injuries like this one (this isn't something Weiss should be reprimanded and held accountable for), and 2) it's possible he's been dealing with this, in some capacity, for longer than we might think. Is it just a coincidence that he started decently (at least in the effort and sticking-with-it department) but at some point became more like a zombie than an actual hockey player? Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I like the idea that this issue first popped up as the injuries were really starting to mount, so he felt obligated to suck it up and stick it out and step it up to cushion the blow of losing Zetterberg et al. - a decision which, while admirable, ultimately aggravated his condition and brought him to where he is now.

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!" - Kierkegaard

This is my last straw with Weiss. If he comes back after the surgery and shows piss poor effort again I won't be looking for him to succeed here anymore. Can only hope this fixes him.

He tried to soldier through the injury while others were hurt, but ultimately, couldn't carry on. That's pretty admirable. He doesn't need to be "fixed". Sports hernias seriously hinder a player. You can't expect him to be the same player he always was when he has one. I think it's remarkable he's produced what he has with this injury. He'll be back healthy and then his talent and effort will show through.

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!" - Kierkegaard

This is my last straw with Weiss. If he comes back after the surgery and shows piss poor effort again I won't be looking for him to succeed here anymore. Can only hope this fixes him.

Honestly, I'm not expecting much out of him when he comes back. Its very hard coming back near the end of the season and trying to find form and fitness post surgery. He needs a good off-season, a good pre-season and see if he can hit the ground running. I've virtually written off the rest of this season for him.

"If I can be totally honest, it's not a lot of guys you get impressed by. Actually, it's no one else but him. From the bench, to see what move he makes -- you're like, 'I wish I could do that.' Sometimes you sit on the bench and just think, 'wow,' and you look over to the other bench and they sit there and shake their heads, too. He has great, great skills. I'm probably not going to play with another player who has the kind of skills he has." Mikael Samuelsson on Pavel Datsyuk